I took a trek in Centennial Woods today to look for a tree to monitor throughout this spring. Climbing up the wee hill near the old ROTC bunker, there was a little Northern Red Oak sitting right next to a large White Oak. I first spotted its leaves. They were all dry brown, and shriveled, but still resembled the quintessential pointy and oak shaped outline of the leaves of a Red Oak. Because the oak is still young, the bark had a Smooth, grey feel, like that of an American Beech. Unlike an American beech, there was the beginnings of a stripe running down its side.
